Students Partake in "Alternative Spring Break" Denver

Every year the Suffolk University SOULS office provides students with an opportunity to do some community service during their spring break. The program called Alternative Spring Break (ASB) allows Suffolk students to apply for a spot on the trip that lasts a week in March.

The trips consists of different activities and represents different causes. This year the SOULS office offered four trips: a trip to San Francisco for environmental issues, a trip to Meridian, Miss. for hurricane relief, a trip to Detroit for LGBT rights and a trip to Denver for poverty relief.

Twenty-two students flew to Denver to work with Habitat for Humanity in their biggest project yet. The Bails Townhome Community is Habitat's first project that consists of townhouses instead of actual permanent homes. It is a 24-home complex for families in need.

Alexandra Johns and Kate LaGarde applied to be the trip leaders and chose Denver as their destination. They worked with facilitators Kevin Travers, Hillary Ornberg and Greg Freed to make the trip as successful and fulfilling as it could be for the students.

The Suffolk students were welcomed to Colorado by the Grace Methodist Church in Denver. They were able to stay there for the week and utilize the bathroom, kitchen and any other room space needed. The students went prepared with sleeping bags, air mattresses and plenty of games to keep them busy during the nights.

The 22 students, who were basically strangers, were forced to interact with each other and form friendships through a series of ice-breakers held by the team leaders. The students began to feel comfortable with each other and were ready to take on any task that came their way.

During their first day in Colorado, the ASB Denver group volunteered at the Boys and Girls club. They arrived expecting to spend a day with kids, but were greeted with a different task. The Boys and Girls Club needed a deep cleaning, and that is just what the Suffolk University students gave it. Students were mopping, sweeping, cleaning windows, and dusting computer labs and other classrooms.

"It wasn't what we needed from the Boys and Girls Club, but what they needed from us," reflected Hillary Ornberg.

During the rest of the week the students worked on the worksite with Habitat for Humanity nailing down dry wall clips, siding, roofing, setting up stubs and sheeting the garages. It was a learning experience for all of the students, especially those who had never done construction work in their life.

"It was an unbelievable experience," said junior Andrew MacDonald. "The one thing I really took away from this trip was the patience of all the AmeriCorps workers. It was really rewarding meeting the person who would be moving into the house we were building."

It wasn't all work and no play for the students, after a long day of labor at the work site they were able to explore the city of Denver and its surrounding towns. They participated in activities such as hiking in Boulder, going out to dinner in downtown Denver, watching the sunset over the Rockies and visiting the Red Rocks amphitheatre.

By the end of the trip, the students had created a bond with the workers of Habitat, AmeriCorps, other volunteers and each other. They didn't want the trip to end; they had met so many new people, learned so much and had gotten used to the comfortable environment that Denver provided them with.

The night before taking off, the students, leaders and facilitators came together and shared what they liked most about their experience. Everyone had something positive to say and the atmosphere of the room was gloomy as the students realized the trip would be over the next day. Some students choked up at the thought of having to leave such a beautiful place and such a good group of people.

"The final day of ASB was incredibly emotional for me," said LaGarde, one of the trip leaders. "I got the chance to help bring 22 people together as a group and no one wanted the trip to end. I really couldn't have asked for a better ASB experience."

They played their last game of ‘Mafia,' a game that seemed to have captured the interest of everyone in the group. Back in Boston, the students exchanged phone numbers, e-mails and Facebook addresses. They decided they would all get together again and not lose touch.

"We were all strangers, some of us knew each other," read Roger Khun's Facebook status, a student that went on the trip. "But together we became a family. ASB Denver."

With this trip, the SOULS office provided a time and place for students to meet get to know each other and make long lasting friendships while contributing to a good cause. It was an alternative Spring break, at an alternative location with an alternative group of kids. It was indeed, a week of alternative everything.